Samsung and SK Partner with OpenAI on Stargate Initiative to Boost Global AI Infrastructure

Samsung, SK, and OpenAI have announced strategic partnerships as part of OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, aimed at expanding critical AI development infrastructure, globally and in Korea. The announcement followed a meeting between President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Seoul. These partnerships will focus on scaling up the production of advanced memory chips, targeting 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month, and expanding data center capacity in Korea. OpenAI also signed agreements to explore developing next-generation AI data centers in Korea, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) to evaluate opportunities for building AI data centers outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area, supporting balanced regional economic growth. Further partnerships include exploring building an AI data center in Korea with SK Telecom, as well as an agreement with Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung SDS to assess opportunities for additional data center capacity in the country. Samsung and SK will also look to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise and API capabilities into their operations. Further details on the scope and specifics of these collaborations will be shared as plans progress. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated, “Korea has all the ingredients to be a global leader in AI—incredible tech talent, world-class infrastructure, strong government support, and a thriving AI ecosystem. We’re excited to work with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and the Ministry of Science and ICT through our global Stargate initiative to support Korea’s AI ambitions.”